Joseph-Ignace Guillotin

Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (28 May 1738-26 March 1814) was a French physician who proposed the introduction of a less-painful form of execution to the French legal system, beheading, in 1789. Guillotin did not invent the guillotine, which had actually been invented by surgeon Antoine Louis, and he actually opposed the death penalty. Contrary to some claims, Guillotin was not executed by his own device, although another man with the surname "Guillotin" was executed during the Reign of Terror. He died in 1814, and several of his family members changed their surname due to the humiliation of having such a controversial last name.